US569024A - Railway-signal flagstaff - Google Patents

Description

4(No Model.)

@.P. 30CH; l l RAILWAY SIGNAL FLAGSTAFF. 1`

N0. 569,024. Tatentedt. 6, 1,896.

g Y e wj/r'oesses. QM? l ma cams Pinzas co4. monzufno, wAsmNcTou, mv c ton, rubber, or any other soft material.

UNiTED STATES PATENT? OFFICE.

GEORGE P: KOOI-I, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL FLAesTAFF.

Y SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,024, dated October 6, 1896.

Application filed July 31, 1896. Serial No. 601,159. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known thatvI, GEORGE P. KooH, of Boston, county of Suolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Signal Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of au improved signal apparatus particularly adapted for use on railroads whereby a flag can be readily set or furled andvprotected when not in use. I have also provided a convenient receptacle in the portable signal apparatus wherein the usual track-torpedoes may be kept, so that they will be at hand when needed.

Various features ofk my invention will be hereinafter described in the specification and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of one form of signal apparatus with the flag displayed. Fig, 2 is a similar view with the flag furled and protected. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view thereof on the line :1c Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in elevation of the Hag-roller, and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a slightly-modified form of my invention to be described.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, and 3, I have shown a hollow slightly-tapering holder a, of wood or metal, preferably the latter, threaded at its ends at a and a2, respectively, the base of the holder being provided with a torpedochamber ax, preferably lined with felt, cot- A screw-cap c is adapted to engage the threads a2 of the holder, closing that end thereof, removal of the cap permitting access to the torpedo-chamber. Byhaving the torpedoes thus protected the clamps thereof are preserved intact instead of being broken off, as is frequently the case at present, and the torpedoes are kept in a place convenient for the operator when they are required for use.

The iiag F is secured at its inner edge in a longitudinal slot CZ of a staff or roll CZ, having a shoulder d2 near its lower end and a preferably milled head d3 at its upper end.

A hollow case e, havingabearing c' therein near its lower end, receives the flag-roll, the shoulder d2 thereof resting on the bearing and permitting the roll to be rotated, the top of the roll extending through the closed top c2 of the case, while the flag isv passed through a longitudinal slot e3 in the case.

By grasping the projecting outer edge of the flag it may bepulled out through the slot c3 of the case, while it may be wound upon the roll d by rotating the latter with the head d3, drawing the flag into the case, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

1V hen it is desired to use the Hag, a cap c', Fig. 2, havinga threaded base c2, is unscrewed from the threaded end a' of the holder a, and

Vthe flag-case e is run out by tipping theholder.

The case is drawn out `until it is in the position shown in Fig. l, and then the threaded shank c3 of the cap c is inserted in the threaded hole a3 in the holder to bear against the adjacent part of the casec as a set-screw, firmly holding it in place. It will thus be seen that the cap c serves the double purpose of a closure for the end of the holder a when the flag is not in use, and as a set or retaining screw to hold the flag-case in operative position.

On the pilots and tenders of locomotives, and also on the ends of cars, flagstaff-holders are usually secured to receive the end of the staif and display a flag, and in Fig. 5 I have shown a modification of my invention adapted for such form of fixed holder. The hollow holder f, rigidly secured in place in any suitable manner, is threaded at its outer end at f to receive a combined cap and setscrew g g', the closure being shown in Fig. 5 acting as a set-screw. The flag-case h has a bearing h therein for the shoulder le of the flag-roll k, the latter having a small bevelgear k2 fast thereon in mesh with a similar gear k3, mounted on a shaft h4 in the caseh, one end of the shaft having a squared or polygonal end Z to fit a correspondingly-shaped recess in the screw-shank g. When the case h is extended, it will generally happen that the head kx of the iiag-roll will be out of the operators reach, and he then applies the shank of the cap g, using it asa key to rotate the shaft 7&4 and through the gears roll the flag up. After this the shank is inserted in the holder to act as a set-screw, as shown, preventing accidental displacement of the flagcase due to vibration. IVhen the flag is not IOO in use, the cap g is applied to the top of the holder to prevent the entrance of moisture and dirt.

A cushion fx of some yielding` material may be inserted in the lower part of the holder to support the fiaboase when not in use.

lVhile I have herein shown the holder as adapted to receive a single flag and its case, it will be obvious that the holder may be made of sufficient diameter to receive a plurality of the cases without departing from the scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a signal apparatus, a hollow holder, a dag-case adapted to slide thereinto, and a combined closure and set-screw to close the end of the holder and to retain the flag-case in extended, operative position, substantially as described.

2r Ina signal apparatus, a hollow holder threaded at its upper end and havinga threaded hole in its side, a tubular flag-case adapted to slide thereinto, means to furl and spread the flag, and a threaded closure for the holder, having a threaded shank to enter the hole in said'holder Vand retain the flag-case in eX- tended position, substantially as described.

3. In a signal apparatus, a longitudinallyslotted tubular flag-case,arotatable rod therein to which the iag is secured, a holder in which the case is adapted to enter when not in use, a chamber in the lower end of the holder, a closure therefor, and a combined cap and set-screw, to close the other end of the holder and also to serve as a retaining device for the flag-case when extended in opp erative position, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I have. signed my name to this specication in the. presence' of two snbscribingavitnesses, o

GEORGE P.. KOCH. lVitnesses:

J oHN C. EDWARDs. ALEX. C. PROUDFIT.

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